Dani arrived at the Auction Hall directly from an overnight shift.
The System was unclear on how this was possible, given that the dungeon has no shifts, no phones, and no customers, but she had the specific glazed expression of someone who had spent eight hours saying “I understand your frustration” to strangers, and the cat was with her, so the System let it go.
A guild administrator handed her a paddle and a ledger.
“More forms.”
“It’s a budget.”
“Sure.”
System NoticeCRAWLER DANI HAS ENTERED THE AUCTION. UNDERSTANDING OF AUCTION FORMAT: UNVERIFIED. TEAM NAME SUBMITTED: “DANI.” THE SYSTEM ASKED TWICE. IT IS STILL “DANI.”
The sixth recruit of the night was Jason Robertson. Dani’s paddle went up. It stayed up. The number climbed, and she kept it there with the flat, unbothered persistence of someone holding for a supervisor, and when the gavel came down at fifty-eight the whole hall turned to look at the new kid.
“What?”
Five picks later, David Pastrnak. Fifty-seven. The paddle had not come down between nominations. The System is not certain she knew it was still up.
Three picks after that, Quinn Hughes. Thirty-nine.
Budget AnalysisGOLD SPENT: 154. RECRUITS: 3. NOMINATIONS ELAPSED: 14. THE NEW KID HAS DONE A KAYLA.
Kayla, from the couch, looked over with something like pride.
What separated the sisters was what happened next. Kayla got twelve gold and a rose ceremony. Dani got forty-six and a second wind. Kyle Connor for twenty-six, which was the last big swing. Casey DeSmith for five, a goalie, because someone had told her she needed one and she had written it on her hand.
Then the dollar bin, and here the overnight shift finally paid off. Nobody is more patient with a slow process than a person who has been on hold for a living. Fantilli, two. Logan Cooley, one. Brandt Clarke, Dougie Hamilton, Peterka, Vince Dunn, Luke Hughes. Spencer Knight in net for one gold. Steven Stamkos for one gold, and the cat, which had been asleep, opened one eye at the name and closed it again.
Sixteen names. Zero gold. Dani looked at the ledger like it had done this without her.
“Is that it?”
That is it.
“Was that good?”
Ask me in December.
A training puck rolled across the floor from wherever the Tutorial Guild kept them. Without thinking, Dani kicked it. It crossed the Auction Hall at alarming speed and took the auctioneer’s podium off at the base.
Silence.
“Sorry.”
Auction RecordROSTER: COMPLETE.GOLD REMAINING: 0. STARS: 4. DOLLAR-BIN VETERANS: MANY. SOCCER INSTINCTS: STILL FULLY OPERATIONAL. UNDERSTANDING OF CURRENT SITUATION: 47%. IMPROVING.TEAM NAME: STILL “DANI.”
She picked up the cat and left. The System watched her go and privately revised her odds, which it does not have, because this is not gambling, Matt.
New kid. Two weeks of a little help from the System, then she was on her own.
Perfect.